A hare met a tortoise one day and made fun of him for the slow and clumsy way in which he walked.

The tortoise laughed and said, "I will run a race with you any time that you choose."

"Very well," replied the hare, "we will start at once."

The tortoise immediately set off in his slow and steady way without waiting a moment or looking back. The hare, on the other hand, treated the matter as a joke and decided to take a little nap before starting, for she thought that it would be an easy matter to overtake her rival.

The tortoise plodded on, and meanwhile the hare overslept herself, with the result that she arrived at the winning-post only to see that the tortoise had got in before her.

Moral: Slow and steady wins the race.

This comes from a book handed down from my grandmother to my mother to me. The book is so old it doesn't have a copyright date or an author/editor's credit.

That fable has been the motivation for us turtles for about three years. Someone on the ancient WW forum mentioned the fable and I discovered it was very motivational for me. I talked about it in posts and other people said that the tortoise philosophy worked for them, too. So, I started a thread for us turtle types.

We work toward accepting that our bodies have a natural speed of weight loss when we choose to live a healthy life, instead of "going on a diet". Many of us have experienced "the diets" as go on/lose weight-- go off/ gain the weight plus more back.

We choose to perservere with each choice we make throughout the day. We believe that choosing to be slow, steady turtles helps us to learn the skills we need to in order to lose and keep off the weight. Our main focus is to become the healthiest people we can be.

So, welcome to all who realize that losing and maintaining a weight loss is a lifestyle change. And who want support as we all learn the skills we need to successfully make the changes that will allow us to reach our goals.

Lin

__________________
Lin

Blog: http://sahw.blogspot.com/
Inspiration:
A Good Plan + A Steady Pace = A Winning Race
Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.-Yoda
If you think you can or think you can't, you're right.-Henry Ford

Welcome to all of you new folks! This is likely to be a long post since I haven't been able to post for a while.

Kaylets, we always have room for one more. Welcome. I hope we can help you reach your goals. I think it's great that you're trying new things. Boredom is one of the things that can mess us up quickly! I hope you enjoyed Cirque de Soliel.

Effenbee, welcome. Well, going up for two weeks and then down for one definitely counts as a turtle pattern. One reason we go slowly is so that we can figure out and work on the things that keep us stalled or cause us to do that kind of yo-yo thing you mentioned. Stick around and we'll do our best to support you in whatever way we can.

Welcome, Terri. Please don't give up. I'll tell you, we've all gone through stages where it's been very difficult and we've contemplated giving up, but we keep posting, no matter what, and our motivation eventually seems to return. Hope we can help remotivate you. Good luck with your exercise.

Lauren, I hope you enjoyed having your visitors. I'm glad to see that you're getting more writing to do. Much congratulations on reaching your Adirondacks goal. Way to go!!

Kathy, I do have a lot of favorite menus I use over and over. I think the best tip I have right now is the easiest low-fat salad dressing in the world. First, a tip about oil sprays--I don't use the ones you buy because you get chemicals and low-quality oil. They cost a lot per serving, too. So, I use inexpensive extra-virgin olive oil in a Misto, which is the same calorie count per spray as the nonstick sprays you buy. (I admit if my budget were less strained, I'd use expensive and more flavorful extra-virgin olive oil, but you can't have everything.) For you new folks--I'm a avid chef and use the pinch of this, pinch of that method in everything except baking. I believe that everyone has their own tastes and you can figure out how much herbs, spices, etc. you like. That's how much is the right amount.

Sprinkle an herb blend of your choice over that. Add a pinch of salt. (I like to buy the salt-free blends, then put the amount of salt I like. If your blend has salt, then don't add more to the salad.) I also toss fresh herbs or make my own blends. To make your own, just open your spice bottles and sniff. If they smell good together, they will taste good together.

Sometimes I put plain black or white pepper and sometimes I put a pepper blend, depending on what flavor I want. Toss. Taste. If it tastes bland, add a pinch of salt. If it's too sour or bitter, add a pinch of sugar or honey. There are no extra bowls to wash. You get a variety of flavors because you pick your herb blends. And you can't go wrong unless you get too heavy-handed with the spices. Put a little and taste to see if you need more. Experience will teach you how much you like. And remember, you can always add, but not subtract ingredients.

Steamed veggies can get pretty blah after a while. So, I spray olive oil over them, which makes the herbs and spices stick, then sprinkle herb blends, salt, and pepper, just like on my salad. Sometimes I put balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. Salsa is a really good addition to salads or veggies instead of other flavorings, too. These things really perk up the flavor of plain veggies without adding a lot of calories. Hope this gives you more variety with your vegetables.

I hope you had fun sewing this weekend.

Judy, it's good to hear from you.

April, congratulations on the .4 pounds. Don't knock the slow pace. I know it's easy to be impatient, but remember two things. One, you didn't put the weight on fast and it's not likely to come off fast. Two, people who take it slowly tend to keep it off, which is our ultimate goal.

Erin, I don't eat sophisticated food every day. Mostly I cook fairly simple stuff, but with the best ingredients I can find and afford. But sometimes it's so much fun to get in the kitchen and try something really elaborate, if cooking is your thing, that is.

Guess I'd better tell the new folks a bit about myself. I'm the ultimate turtle, which is why I started this thread. My mother convinced my pediatrician to put me on a diet when I was about nine because she was afraid I'd get fat. I did, eventually, fulfill that prophecy and have been fighting this battle my whole adult life. I've lost and regained more pounds than I could count, like many people.

One of my biggest hindrances is severe PMS, which can cause me to regain and lose the same weight month after month. I've discovered that a regimen of calcium, a mulitvitamin, and magnesium supplements, eating mini meals, drinking extra water, and walking every day helps keep the PMS more manageable.

What is difficult is that I currently am living in a situation I abhor because I'm very isolated and I'm really fighting to keep from overeating and gaining weight. I've also been feeling very tired about even making the effort because I've been doing this for 40 years, and haven't been a normal weight since I was a teenager.

But I'm still here, still posting even though I'm not exactly following WW right now. I've noticed that for me, continuing to post, being honest about my issues, helps to keep things from getting so out of hand that I end up back where I began. When I'm struggling, I'm happy to maintain my weight.

As for the rest of my life, I'm 48. I've been married 25 years. I have two sons, 18 and 23. My 18-year-old is headed to art college on Wednesday. I keep busy helping with moderating duties on two forums in which I've been active. I also am working seriously on a fantasy novel. I've been a hobby writer most of my life, but now I'm trying to improve my writing skills, hoping to have my stories accepted for publication. My other project is to find that dreaded "day job", but since the economy is down, that project isn't being successful. That's both good and bad. Bad because we really need to increase our income, but good because I have more time to write.

Well, this post is long enough. Once my son leaves, I will have more computer time and will be able to post more often.

Again, welcome to you new members. Please let us know in what ways we can help you achieve your goals. Best advice--remain active, no matter how things are going.

Happy turtlin'!

Lin

__________________
Lin

Blog: http://sahw.blogspot.com/
Inspiration:
A Good Plan + A Steady Pace = A Winning Race
Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.-Yoda
If you think you can or think you can't, you're right.-Henry Ford

Welcome, Effenbee and Terri! Great to have you here. As for losing slowly ... you've come to the right place, that's for sure. As I say, I've been doing this for 4.5 years now. Some years I lose well, some I don't lose so well, and some I don't lose at all! But I just keep looking at the long run, the big picture, etc. Where do I want to be in five years? Ten years? I know if someone had told me 4.5 years ago that by this date in 2002 I would weigh 95 pounds less, I'd have been thrilled, even though it only pans out to just 20-something pounds per year.

At this point, I figure it will take me another couple of years to get to my WW goal of about 144. I know that's only 30 pounds away (which seems incredible to me now), but I expect to lose more slowly as I get closer. Also, I'm going to have to go down another point range shortly, and I truly cannot imagine being able to do that. I'm fine with taking another couple of years to get there. Why hurry? It's not like much of anything will change. (Except I won't have to pay WW any more money! ) I'll still be writing it down, still be watching my points, still be getting in the exercise and making healthy food choices. That's life now.

So anyway.

Lin, thanks so much for the salad dressing tip. Very nice; I'm going to try that. These days I've been eating a lowfat salad dressing most of the time rather than nonfat, because I seem to lose weight better if I up my fats a bit (so long as they're the healthy, uncooked kind). I really like your idea of putting olive oil in a mister. I need to find one of those.

Hello to everyone else; I don't have your posts in front of me, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

Our visitors were fun, and now we finally have the house to ourselves again. Chloe (cat) is doing better; thanks for asking, Erin. I put her on just soft food for a while, which she doesn't like, but I think it did the trick. Today she wanted hard food again; I'll see how that goes. If she feels crummy again, I'll know she can't handle it anymore.

DH is going to the dermatologist on Wed. to get a red thingie removed from his nose. It has taken to bleeding lately, which is not a good sign. Prayers/good thoughts welcome. I really wanted him to get this taken care of before we go on vacation on Thursday.

I pulled out a bunch of my fall clothes from storage to see what fit. It was fun -- a bunch of stuff looks so much better now. Some is just too big, though I'm loathe to part with it. I'm going to wear one sweater as a jacket or a dress or something; I just can't get rid of it!

It's a beautiful day here...but it was cold this A.M. .....it was 1.2C when I got up today. It is around 13C now.

Lauren....when I read your post...I thought...well..the fact that I have lost 9.6 lbs is good. Maybe in a year...it could be 20. You see...I am on antiepressants...that is probably why the weight loss is so slow. I have been doing WW on & since 1970. As the years went on...it got harder & harder to stick to. I guess I have been depressed for a long time & resisted going on antidepressants. I think part of the reason for the depression is the fact that I have struggled with my weight for so long. Now that I am feeling better...I am able to be OP a lot more. I do write down what I eat everyday. After 5 months...it has become a habit. So...if it takes longer to lose this weight...that is the way it is.

I went & walked this morning & had coffee with friends after.

DH has gone to DS's new house this afternoon to help him out. It needs a lot of work before they can move in. DH is real handy doing projects around the house. So it is just me & the dog at home now.

Hello all! I really appreciate how everyone has been so welcoming! and hello to the other new turtles! Glad I 'm not the only new Turtle!

I weigh myself everyday but only use the reading as motivation. My "official" weigh in day is Monday. Saw a decrease of .5, which is better than last Monday which was what I call a "maintain" week.

I,also, can see big water gains due to PMS but have found soy products as well as daily magnesium (250 MG) have made a tremendous difference. My cycle has become erratic the past year but I think its a safe bet that my "maintain" week is really the pms week- and instead of gaining 3-4 -5-6 lbs, I "maintained".
I'm not saying this would work for everyone, I can only speak for myself . I started taking magnesium hoping it really did cure chocolate cravings - and was rewarded. ( Nearly elminated cramping and lower backache too)

The other thing I found out accidentally was how much better I feel with less coffee. 2 yrs ago when I began WW's, I couldnt tolerate artificial sweetner in the morning. So, I allowed myself 2 cups of coffee w/ real sugar, and the rest of the day drank water or plain tea. I admit, I often drank more than 5-6 cups a day- I "needed it" to get everything done I needed to do. Within 3 days, I was waking up REFRESHED. That late afternoon crash didnt happen anymore, my mood was better and I felt so much better. My husband, who could drink a cup before going to bed, followed suit and noticed the same changes himeself.

Look how I've gone on and on!

Take care all!

__________________
Made Lifetime 05/16/2005
Relapsed but figuring this out, one meal at a time.

Hi Turtles!!! Welcome one and all!!! It is nice we have new turtles!!!

Lin thanks for the salad thing..I will try it tomorrow and was it Lauen who gave the vegie pie??? if not please forgive me (i don't have that post infront of me..) that sounds do good. It is like the perfect thing for me..I am going to do that one too.

I did get a little bit of quilting done, wish it could have been more. I made 4 blocks, and decided that one had to be aced out of the quilt and I would have to make another one, good thing I decided that cause my puppy dog who happens to be a 1 1/2 years old, ate it..Yes he ate it..He had been outside half the day up untill 11:00. when i finally let him in, he got a bit crazy and when I was checking mail, or playing a game on the computer, he ate my block. He is such a brat!!! Daughter comes up next sunday and she will help me put my pictures on the computer.

Went to curves all 6 days last week, today was day 1 of my 3rd week. I am doing great on it. I bought a size "L" pants from K-mart today as I needed some new work pants..Now mind you, when I wash them, they will shirink a bit so I might not be able to wear them again until I lose some more inches, but they are not uncomfortable or anything...I wore some 16's from Walmart to work last friday..although they felt ok at first, after a few hours they started pinching my stomach. I had elastic marks all over my stomach when I finally got to peel the pants off. I will not wear them again until I go down. Decided becasue Of the money to not go back to WW and just do it at home..I will official weigh on the ll th of each month as that is when Ijoined curves..I will tell you the weight I lost plus the inches. I will have am offial weigh in at Curves...

It is 12:00 now but I am going to go to the store with husband and get a few things for lunch tomorrow. I personally like coffe alot but keep it down to a cup or a cup an a half in the am. I like half/half. and that is why I only drink a cup..Cant afford to drink the half/half with it!! too many points..

Thanks to salt and carbs, I'm up a half pound from my goal today, but I'm still thrilled. Today is my "official" weigh-in, so I'll use it in my sig. My goal for the next couple of weeks while we're on vacation is to stay in the 170s, just because it feels so doggone good to be here.

I got out all my fall clothes yesterday and tried them on for DH. He loves this. He nixed a couple of things that are just too big now, so they'll be going onto ebay when we get back. Surprisingly, though, most of my clothes still fit. It's funny; I've lost 30 pounds this year, but I'm still in roughly the same size. I think it's because of going from plus sizes to regular sizes. A plus-size 18 is a size bigger than a misses size 18. Right now I'm between a 16 and an 18 in misses clothing, but I can still wear the plus size in many things.

April, I think almost 10 pounds is GREAT. Good for you, taking the longer view approach. It really helps keep me sane. There were months this year where I lost nothing, even went up. (I tend not to lose weight at all during the late winter and most of spring.) But when I look back, I've lost 30 pounds in 12 months, and that's just fine with me. Go pick up a 10-pound bag of something in the grocery store (like kitty litter or dog food) and pat yourself on the back. That's how much less you're carrying around right now! Imagine losing another 10-pound bag over the next six months (or whatever). It really starts to add up.

Kaylets, good for you, losing in spite of hormones. I too have been taking supplements and finding they make a huge difference. I've been taking calcium with D and a separate magnesium tablet. Maybe it's the magnesium that's doing it, I don't know, but I'm having almost no PMS at all some months, which is miraculous. That's great about reducing the caffeine. I can rarely touch the stuff myself; it makes me nuts. I really admire people who cut back from high-caffeine intakes; I know that's very hard to do.

Kathy, your dog ate your quilt block!!! The little bum! I had to chuckle when I read that. I hear you about the half-and-half. I won't put anything else in my coffee. If I can't have the cream, I'd rather drink it black. Skim milk is just yucky in coffee, IMO, and as for powdered non-dairy "creamers" -- fageddaboutit!

Thank you so much for all the wonder welcomes and the intros. I love reading about other's journeys. I have done so-so with food this week. I'm right at my max so far. I didn't get the dogs walked yesterday so I'll have to make time tonight.

One of my goals this week is to get my points down to where I have some banked. I tend to do okay throughout the day but the evening meal is where I usually have trouble.

I'm also going to work on my attitude this week and come to grips with being a turtle. Even though the scale isn't budging, I can feel the difference in my body from the morning exercises I've been doing. Its all about being healthier.

No time for replies as I overslept this morning. Have a great OP day!

__________________What do I want most of all? I want to ride my horses and learn how to ride well! I want to train like a champion!

Congratulations, Lauren on finding that so many of your fall things don't fit anymore. Maybe after you sell some off on ebay, you can buy yourself a super new something.

Wish your dh well for me. You're in my prayers.

I like your quote. Thanks for sharing it with us.

April, the thing about losing weight slow or fast is that the process is the same and the process stays the same after we reach goal. So, ultimately, it doesn't really matter how long. What matters is what we've learned and the habits we've built because that's what keeps us at goal. It takes some of us longer to learn that stuff and build the habits, so it takes us longer to lose. It also takes some people longer because their bodies aren't willing to give up the weight as fast as other people's bodies. We have no control over that. So, the best we can do is to do what we can and keep plugging away on the journey.

Kaylets, I tried to go totally caffeine-free a while back. It didn't help the PMS problem, so I went back to my morning coffee. Since I only drink it in the morning, it doesn't seem to be a problem for me. The only thing that ever has helped has been to increase my calcium and take a magnesium supplement, along with the multivitamin. There are other things that help somewhat, but that's made the major difference for me.

Kathy, it's so great to read about your new-found dedication to exercise, thanks to Curves. I'm looking forward to seeing the pics of your quilt when you get them up.

You guys are funny about the half-&-half. I discovered (thanks to my dh) that I like black coffee, if it's really good coffee. So, I buy good quality beans and grind them myself, then I don't miss the cream. I haven't used cream for years.

Determined--nice to hear from you. It took most of us a while to be content with being turtles. Don't worry. The concept will start to make sense as time goes by.

Right now I'm alone except for my kitties. My dh has taken my youngest son off to college. I chose to stay home so he could take everything he wanted to take with him. It's a small car. I am surprised at how sad I am. It's a bittersweet moment in my life. I'm so proud of him and glad he's going to be able to pursue what is really a lifelong dream. But I will miss him, and his brother, who moved out a couple of months ago. They're really great people and I know what a precious gift it is to be able to say that about your kids.

As for my weight issues, I have some plans for things I want to do differently from what I'm doing now. But it's back to baby steps for me. I'm starting with breakfast. I want to get back to eating oatmeal and fruit. So, my plan for however long it takes to get back into that habit is to switch to oatmeal for breakfast.

And to keep walking. I may have convinced my husband to walk with me after dinner. He's not as active in this job as he was in his last one and he's noticing the difference. He's not gaining weight, but he's not losing and he should be because he's eating a lot less.

Well, that's about it for today. Hope all of you have a great day!!

Happy turtlin'! We're all s today.

Lin

__________________
Lin

Blog: http://sahw.blogspot.com/
Inspiration:
A Good Plan + A Steady Pace = A Winning Race
Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.-Yoda
If you think you can or think you can't, you're right.-Henry Ford

As always, I lost weight *after* my WW weigh-in day, so I'm using the lower number as my official weight. And I'm not weighing myself again, either!

Got a ton to do to get ready for vacation. Two articles to write, another to edit, packing, getting directions to places, sending out directions regarding the cats, etc. It's only for less than two weeks, but sheesh! You'd think it was an Arctic expedition or something. The articles in particular are weighing on me. For some reason, I'm having a terrible time making myself do them. I think it's because my computer froze JUST as I finished interviewing someone over the telephone for the article, and I lost all my notes. It was awful. So now I have to wrack my brain to figure out what lost.

DH had that thing on his face biopsied today. We won't know until we return what the results are. The doctor said it looked like it could be a ... can't remember the name, but it's a pre-cancerous growth. DH goes back to see him the day after we return; if it's a Bad Thing, he'll have the rest of it removed then.

Determined, love your attitude about your body becoming healthier. That's great that you're seeing changes from your exercising. I do think accepting one's turtle self is a hard but important thing to do. Some of us here have bought little turtle mascots and placed them in strategic spots around the house. I have one on the refrigerator.

Lin, I hope DH does walk with you. I really enjoy walking after dinner with my DH, though we don't do it every night. (I have to work tonight, for example.) It's getting darker earlier now, so sometimes we just walk in the dark. We always have good talks when we walk. {{HUGS}} for the empty nest feelings. It must be a mixed blessing, having the place to yourself again. Especially hard for an extrovert, I would imagine. That's so wonderful that you enjoy your boys so much.

Kaylets, size 14 pants, misses!!!!!! WOO-HOO! I think that's wonderful! What size did you start at? I started between a 28 and a 30 (of COURSE I was between sizes then, too). I remember thinking that a 16-18 was unimaginably small. I still marvel when I look at my jeans and realize I can wear them. You must be totally geeked! Congratulations.

I'll try to check in one last time tomorrow, Turtles. Boy, are we ready for vacation.

I was size 24- in fact, the jeans hang outside a closet on purpose- Sometimes I see them, sometimes I do- Just thinking now that they might come in handy for one of those photos. You know what I mean, a side view holding the big waistband out so you can see how much room there is.

I'll have to think on that one.

Need to go the my less favorite websites and pay some bills.

Take care all!

__________________
Made Lifetime 05/16/2005
Relapsed but figuring this out, one meal at a time.

Miata Kathy here. Having a great day, took the top off my miata and got to drive home from work. Plan on doing a little riding tonight when the sun goes down. That is one thing I am planning to do when my dh goes to Vegas..Drive my car...He usually doesn't really want to drive anywhere far cause of his back and I understand that, so while he is gone, and the weather is still good, I will put some miles on the car...

Food wise, ummmm what can I say...I don't think I am doing real good and that is cause we have been going out to eat. I know I should cook, but when dh says, lets go eat out, I say..yes sir!!! don't have to ask me twice. Anyway I need to stop, and start eating more vegies, less meat, and throw in a few fruit once in a while!! and the sugar..cut that way way way back, (actually I have been doing good on the sugar, just eating it once in awhile, I just have not been eating vegies...)

Curves doing good, my frined and curves employee, told me to start doing the macines hard and heavey and keep my pulse to the 70% mark on mon/wed/fri...On Tues, thru/sat, to do light on the machines, and heavy on the jogging, getting it up to about 85%...I am happy with that so that is what I will strart doing on Monday...

I need to drink water!!! I know that wil hellp me lose some of this unwatnted weight.

Kaylets!!! size 14 pants!!! that is so darn awsome!!!
I am so happy for you!!! I know what it feels like to go down in sizes. When I got into my kmart size L..well that was just so super...I can't wait till I get into a size 14 pair of Lee jeans...I just love thoes brands of jeans, and If i can find them, I actually have a pair..Just got to find them..

Well I just got off work, got to work a day shfit today, so now I am a bit tired, so I am going to take a nap before I decided what we will fix for dinner...

My weigh in is on Fridays & I lost .4 lb. this week. Have lost 10 lbs. now....so it's a start.

Not much happening here today. It was raining earlier & it's been overcast most of the day. I did some cleaning & laundry today.

I bought a pair of pants & they are 1 size smaller. I had to take them to the dressmaker. They are too long in the waist, too big at the top of the legs on the outside & too long. She is real good & is reasonable in her prices.

A few days ago I made these banana & oatmeal muffins....I revamped them. They were really good.